Transcript The Sociological Perspective

Prentice Hall
Introductory Sociology
PowerPoint Slides,
Version 3.0
• “...THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF
HUMAN SOCIETY ”
– SYSTEMATIC
• SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE THAT FOCUSES
ATTENTION ON PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR
– HUMAN SOCIETY
• GROUP BEHAVIOR IS PRIMARY FOCUS;
HOW GROUPS INFLUENCE INDIVIDUALS
AND VICE VERSA
– AT THE “HEART OF SOCIOLOGY”
• THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE WHICH
OFFERS A UNIQUE VIEW OF SOCIETY
• EDUCATION AND LIBERAL ARTS
– WELL-ROUNDED AS A PERSON
– SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS
• MORE APPRECIATION FOR DIVERSITY
– THE GLOBAL VILLAGE
– DOMESTIC SOCIAL MARGINALITY
• ENHANCED LIFE CHANCES
– MICRO AND MACRO UNDERSTANDING
– INCREASE SOCIAL POTENTIALS
OTHER WAYS SOCIOLOGY
ALLOWS US TO SEE ANEW
• ADVANTAGES OF A SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
– SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL MARGINALITY
– ALLOWS US TO NOTICE DIVERSITY IN
AMERICA
– SOCIOLOGY DRAWS ATTENTION TO SOCIAL
CRISIS
• IMPORTANCE OF THESE ITEMS
– THEY ALLOW US TO SEE THE CONNECTION
BETWEEN MICRO AND MACRO SOCIAL
ELEMENTS
GLOBAL LINKAGE
• SOCIOLOGY OFFERS STUDENTS THE
OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THE
GLOBAL VILLAGE
– ALL SOCIETIES ARE INCREASINGLY CONNECTED
THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS
• INTERDEPENDENCY OF NATIONS
– MANY SOCIAL PROBLEMS FACED BY AMERICANS
ARE MORE SERIOUS ELSEWHERE
• MORE AWARENESS
– UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL ISSUES AND THE
WORLD AROUND AMERICA ALLOWS STUDENTS
TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES
• FEWER ETHNOCENTRIC TENDENCIES
The Sociological Perspective
OBSERVATIONS ARE CERTAINLY
IMPACTED BY THE PERSONAL
PERSPECTIVES THROUGH WHICH
PEOPLE COME TO VIEW THE WORLD
THE SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE:
PETER BERGER
• SEE THE GENERAL IN THE PARTICULAR
– GENERAL SOCIAL PATTERNS IN THE
BEHAVIOR OF PARTICULAR INDIVIDUALS
• INDIVIDUALS ARE UNIQUE…BUT
• SOCIETY’S SOCIAL FORCES SHAPE US INTO
“KINDS” OF PEOPLE
– CONSIDER THESE
• PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO KILL THEMSELVES
• PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO GO TO AND SUCCEED
IN COLLEGE AND ENJOY A FAVORABLE
QUALITY OF LIFE
Seeing the General in the Particular
RATE OF DEATH BY SUICIDE
20
18
20
WHAT SOCIAL FORCES ARE
AT WORK HERE?
18
16
16
14
14
12
12
10
10
20.2
8
8
6
10.9
4
6.2
2
4
4.9
1.9
0
6
12.4
2
0
African Americans
Whites
By Race and Sex PER 100,000 PERSONS
Males
Both Sexes
Females
U.S. Bureau of the Census
• DURKHEIM’S STUDY OF SUICIDE
– MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT
• MALE PROTESTANTS WHO WERE WEALTHY AND
UNMARRIED HAD HIGHER SUICIDE RATES
– PROTESTANTISM AND INDIVDUALISM
– LESS LIKELY TO COMMIT
• MALE JEWS AND CATHOLICS WHO WERE POOR AND
MARRIED
– BEING CATHOLIC AND GROUP-ORIENTATION
• ONE OF THE BASIC FINDINGS: WHY?
– THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE GROUPS HAD
TO DO WITH “SOCIAL INTEGRATION”
• THOSE WITH STRONG SOCIAL TIES HAD LESS OF A
CHANCE OF COMMITING SUICIDE
COLLEGE BOUND?
• A COLLEGE DEGREE IS THE
KEY TO SUCCESS IN
AMERICA
– WHAT IS IT ABOUT SOCIETY
THAT MAKES THESE PEOPLE
MORE OR LESS LIKELY TO
EXPERIENCE A COLLEGE
EDUCATION?
• BLACKS: 60 PERCENT
• HISPANICS: 66 PERCENT
• WHITES: 68 PERCENT
– ONLY PART OF THE STORY…
• COLLEGE DROPOUT RATES ARE
VERY HIGH AMONGST BLACKS
AND HISPANICS
SEEING THE STRANGE IN THE FAMILIAR
PETER BERGER:
“THINGS AREN’T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM”
• SOCIOLOGY ASKS STUDENTS TO:
– GIVE UP FAMILIAR ASSUMPTIONS
– KNOW THAT SOCIETY INFLUENCES
PEOPLE BY GUIDING THOUGHTS AND
BEHAVIORS
• ANY DOUBTS???
– TO WHAT REAL EXTENT DID YOUR
OWN “FREE WILL” ENTER INTO YOUR
DECISION TO ATTEND COLLEGE?
• WHAT ABOUT EXTERNAL SOCIAL FORCES?
EXTERNAL FORCES SIT RIGHT ON
TOP OF US!!!
SOCIETY
& NORMS
COMMUNITY
DYADS
REWARDS &
PUNISHMENTS
GROUPS
ORGANIZATIONS
AND NORMS
NORMS
NORMS
SOCIAL
EXPECTATIONS
NORMS
SOCIETY
& NORMS
SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
• C. WRIGHT MILLS’ SOCIOLOGICAL
IMAGINATION
– SOCIETY IS OFTEN RESPONSIBLE FOR
MANY OF OUR PROBLEMS
– WE NEED TO LEARN TO SEPARATE
THINGS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH
• PERSONAL TROUBLES, OR BIOGRAPHY
• SOCIAL ISSUES, OR HISTORY
• EXAMPLES:
– WOMEN’S OPPORTUNITIES AT THE TURN
OF THE CENTURY AND THESE DAYS
– LIFESTYLES OF THOSE WE LABEL
DISABLED IN THE 1950’S AND NOW
THINK IN TERMS OF FAMILY,
THE ECONOMY, RELIGION, THE
LEGAL SYSTEM, AND SCHOOL
THINK IN TERMS OF LAWS,
VALUES, NORMS, TRADITIONS,
SOCIAL EXPECATIONS, ROLES,
STATUSES, AND BELIEF
SYSTEMS.
STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE
TO SEE THE CONNECTION
BETWEEN BIOGRAPHY AND
HISTORY!
THE DISCIPLINE’S ORIGINS
• SOCIOLOGY SPRANG FROM THREE
SEPARATE, YET INTERDEPENDENT
REVOLUTIONS
– THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
• A BELIEF IN SCIENCE BEGAN TO REPLACE
TRADITIONAL FORMS OF AUTHORITY
– THE ECONOMIC REVOLUTION
• INDUSTRIALISM AND CAPITALISM WERE
CHANGING ECONOMIC PATTERNS
THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION
• MORE DEMOCRATIC VALUES AND STANDARDS
WERE BEING ADOPTED
PERSONALITIES
• AUGUSTE COMTE (1798-1857)
– POSITIVISM; LAW OF THREE
STAGES; THE “TWIN PILLARS”
• KARL MARX (1818-1883)
– CLASS CONFLICT/STRUGGLE
• HERBERT SPENCER (1820-1903)
– SOCIAL DARWINISM
• EMILE DURKHEIM (1858-1917)
– GROUP FORCES; SOCIAL
SOLIDARITY
• W.E.B. DU BOIS (1868-1963)
– PLIGHT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS
WOMEN IN SOCIOLOGY
• HARRIET MARTINEAU (1802-1876)
– TRANSLATED THE WORKS OF AUGUSTE
COMTE
– FOCUSED ON ISSUES SURROUNDING
• WOMEN’S RIGHTS
• SLAVERY
• THE WORKPLACE AND FACTORY LAWS
• JANE ADDAMS (1860-1933)
– SOCIAL WORKER
– DEVELOPED PLAN TO HELP IMMIGRANTS
NEW TO CITY LIFE IN AMERICA
• HULL HOUSE IN CHICAGO
• NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER, 1931
SOCIAL PARADIGMS
• THEORY: A STATEMENT OF HOW AND
WHY FACTS ARE RELATED
• PARADIGM: A SET OF FUNDAMENTAL
ASSUMPTIONS THAT GUIDES THINKING
PEOPLE HOLD DIFFERING
OPINIONS ABOUT THEIR
SOCIAL WORLD
WE ALL COME FROM
DIFFERENT SOCIAL
EXPERIENCES AND THEY
BIAS OUR ASSUMPTIONS
STRUCTURAL -FUNCTIONALISM
• THE BASICS
– A MACRO-ORIENTED (LARGE-SCALE) PARADIGM
– VIEWS SOCIETY AS A COMPLEX SYSTEM WITH MANY
INTERDEPENDENT PARTS
– THE PARTS WORK TOGETHER TO PROMOTE SOCIAL
STABILITY AND ORDER
– MAJOR CHANGES TO THE SYSTEM’S PARTS IS NOT REQUIRED
OR DESIRED; SYSTEM SEEKS TO MAINTAIN IT EQUILIBRIUM
• KEY ELEMENTS:
– SOCIAL STRUCTURE
• REFERS TO RELATIVELY STABLE PATTERNS OF SOCIAL
BEHAVIOR FOUIND IN SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
– SOCIAL FUNCTION
• REFERS TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL PATTERNS FOR
SOCIETY
• THE WORK OF ROBERT K. MERTON ON SOCIAL FUNCTION
• THE BASICS:
– A MACRO-ORIENTED PARADIGM
– VIEWS SOCIETY AS A STRUCTURED
SYSTEM BASED ON INEQUALITY
– SOCIAL CONFLICT BETWEEN GROUPS
OVER SCARCE RESOURCES IS THE NORM
• KEY ELEMENTS:
– SOCIETY IS STRUCTURED IN WAYS TO
BENEFIT A FEW AT THE EXPENSE OF THE
MAJORITY
– FACTORS SUCH AS RACE, SEX, CLASS, AND
AGE ARE LINKED TO SOCIAL INEQUALITY
– DOMINANT GROUP VS. MINORITY GROUP
RELATIONS
• INCOMPATIBLE INTERESTS AND
MAJOR DIFFERENCES
THE CONFLICT
PARADIGM
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
SYMBOLIC INTERACTION IS A MICRO-ORIENTED PARADIGM,
WHICH MEANS IT IS EFFECTIVELY USED WHEN ATTEMPTING
TO UNDERSTAND SMALLER-SCALE SOCIAL PHENOMENA
• THE BASICS:
– THE VIEW THAT SOCIETY IS THE
PRODUCT OF EVERYDAY INTERACTIONS
• PRINCIPLES:
– SOCIETY IS A COMPLEX MOSAIC OF
UNDERSTANDING THAT EMERGES FROM
THE VERY PROCESS OF INTERACTING
• GOFFMAN’S DRAMATURGICAL ANALSYIS
• THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY
BURGER AND LUCKMANN’S IDEAS
• THINK OF LANGUAGE AS A CONSTANT
PROCESS THAT INVOLVES
– EXTERNALIZATION
• CREATION OF INSTITUTIONS AND RULES THAT GOVERN
INTERACTION
– OBJECTIFICATION
• PEOPLE BEGIN TO SEE SUCH ARRANGEMENTS AS DO NOT
HAVE A HUMAN CONNECTION - REIFICATION
– INTERNALIZATION
• WE INTERNALIZE A SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED REALITY
AS WE LEARN TO ADAPT TO SOCIETY ON OUR WAY TO
BECOMING A “NORMAL HUMAN”
• EXAMPLE: THE PROCESS BY WHICH A
TECHNICAL COLLEGE IS TRANSFORMED
INTO A COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY
COLLEGE